


Sticks and Stones

by Player1isgreat



Series: Diagnosis of The Heart [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Anxiety, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Multi, Oh boy..., slight body horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-25
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-27 15:38:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,551
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15027788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Player1isgreat/pseuds/Player1isgreat
Summary: As the saying goes "sticks and stones may break my bones", but words surely bring his entire world down.





	Sticks and Stones

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [No More](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/391826) by Three Days Grace. 



> It begins~!

The towers' interior already was a common sight, even now as Kairi followed behind with pride and purpose.

As far as I would know, Master Aqua was tending to the Heartless and Lea trailing from training to recon, the King and his loyal soldiers to scour the protected worlds for any mishaps as well, so far turning up bare.

Half of the Guardians of Light were still being assembled, and with Xehanort still working in the shadows, the looming war has us all on edge.

And there also one thing we both would know. At the top of the tower we're climbing, Sora is there, his strength returned and ready to prevent the doom ahead.

The Master behind the door, tall and knowing, turned to our sight as the old wooden door creaked shut.  
"Master Riku and Kairi," he merely spoke, echoing through the near-vacant study; "I believe the news reached you. If it's Sora you seek, he is only in the next hall."

"Thank you Master." We both answered in unison, my gaze now focused to the similar crafted door to our right. There, in the comforting walls of the guest room, was Sora.

 

If all the running around we did meant something, I'm sure he would be out like a light, and as we approach the impending door, the question would surely reign true. A knock on the wood seemed well received, earning a light gasp to the person behind the present obstruction.

"Sora, you in there?" A fine second of hesitation brought worry to my heart, knowing it means something wrong, something to make our overly-cheerful friend silent...

"...Sora—"  
"-No no, I'm fine! Just-...let me get ready quick..." That was followed by the frantic hops of his feet and brief unmistakable obscenities, setting both of us on edge.

He _only_ went to the Coliseum...right?  
Then, what happened?

 

"Sora, are you _really_ alright?"  
"Give me a minute!"

Oddly, but understandably enough, my rage began to boil, leaving not a moment of clarity as my fist pounded at the door.  
"Sora, we're coming in whether you want to or not! What are you doing?"

Another line of silence, his angry huffs reaching us on the other side. "Nothing, really! I'm fine...don't worry..."  
"Riku..." Kairi's voice finally reached me, her hand resting on my shoulder spoke louder than words.

"I-...I know. Still, we need to take care of him." My own grip rested on the doorknob, turning it slow and sweet to hear the creak of the hinges.

"Come on Sora, there's nothing to worry about, re—"

Our only friend greeted us, his cheeks flushed red...then pale...as we looked at the body of a stranger.  
A spare shirt was draped over his arms, just seconds away from hiding the skeletal frame under tight suffocating webs of skin, _his_ skin.

 

Our breath was lost as he tried to focus his, lungs trying to work slow, methodical breathes underneath the gangly cage of bones, something we could now see so easily...  
I felt so close to cry, puke, or both, the silence all too unbearable to comprehend.

"...I...wha—"  
_"-I told you!"_ He quickly snapped, wrestling the rest of the fabric over himself, hiding the evidence for now; "I'm _fine_...there's nothing to worry about." And even for _him_ , he sounded so close to crying as well.

One question left unsaid, but surely needed to be heard.  
How long...has he been like this?

 

"But hey...I see you look great, both of you." Turning our focus to our own clothes, his smile bright and cheerful, now noting his cheeks were hollow and leathery, as if they may tear at any given moment; "I wanted to get my new clothes ready to show you...when you got back—"

"-Stop talking and look at yourself!" Kairi screeched, plunging the room in immersive silence once more; "Sora...just tell us. Why did you hide this from us...?"  
He recoiled, clutching his shirt like a lifeline, his eyes ready to pool tears in minutes.

I could almost feel the pity drowning in his heart, moreover mine as well, trying to think back on before...before everything.  
"I-..." He started, his voice cracking as well; "I just noticed...when I got back. Please...don't worry, I'm perfectly fine, never been better."

 

We were silent, martyred to prove him wrong as he bounced around the strewn pile of abandoned clothes, dressing in a brand new flurry.

Before I knew it, he stood proudly in front of us, chest puffed out and fists to his sides like a superhero.  
"See? I look awesome, right?"

 

His usual attire of red and black was dumbed down to look more... _normal_ , the jacket peaking out hints of plaid around his collar and ankles. And as he continued a lopsided grin to ward off the sense of unease, the evidence was already revealed.

The aforementioned jacket hid his Halloween Town-like skeleton and the special charm necklace he had in our childhood was practically snug between his collarbone and the nonexistent Adam's apple.  
The high-rising boots looked too snug for those mousy feet, shorts bound to his less-than-confident abdomen, and the gloves were constricting his twig-like wrists, as the yellow straps made due process already.

This is who our friend turned out to be...he was still cheerful, but it was now on a thread-bare line.  
If we didn't see this phantom behind the scenes, we wouldn't be anyway wiser.

This is who our one and only childhood friend turned out to be, the one where he saved the worlds from Darkness twice with an everlasting smile on his face, the hero already played in the making.

This is Sora...and he looks so...broken...

  
"Come on, I know you're blown away...right?"

Sora was the one friend who stuck by me no matter what fell on our tiny island of a home, his imagination and smile enough to brighten anyone's day.

He was always quick to make friends, even if they occasionally pushed him aside, he always stuck through thick and thin.

The clear sky filled with stars...and the night his heart grew brighter...he was still Sora.

He was still a slob, still throwing around crazy antics left and right, still trying to make friends, still eating anything that was in his general line of sight, still laughing, still dreaming, still bright...still Sora.

  
"Guys...? Don't leave me in the dark, you know. Say something!"

I think I remember that night...when he was still caring, still kind...and he was hurting, because of someone that wasn't there, and someone he didn't know.

  
"...Riku? Kairi?"

Open up your heart and listen...  
He was still Sora, and he did just that...

  
He was Sora, but at the same time, he wasn't.

"Ok, I'll see what Yen Sid wa— wha-...Riku?"  
I gave him the answer he desperately sought for, wrapping around the porcelain form holding my friend together as his breath caught in my trembling arms.

"Sora..." I even felt tears beginning to prick my eyes, absorbing the somber atmosphere; "You're not alone on this. You got us, remember?"

"I-...of course I do. B—"  
"-Really, you dork...This is nothing we can't handle." Kairi intercepted as well, trapping Sora in this cocoon of suffocating heat.

I guess...his emotions in general are contagious.  
"No matter what, the three of us will get through this together."  
"And once this war's over, or even till the end of time, we'll screw that in your head every day."

Stray sniffles were heard and my tears were consciously brushed away, holding back the embrace now that Sora fell silent.

"How about it Sora? One smile, just for us?"

  
I cracked a smile of my own, and Sora was gone.  
All expressions were turned to stone and his eyes were glued to us, to something, everything, or nothing.  
Those crystal-blue orbs were softly trembling as well as his body, almost close to combusting from the mental storm inside his heart.

  
"...Sora...? You okay...?"  
Tears immediately began to glisten, pool, and cascade down his cheeks, turning bright red as this mental weight began to crash down on him.

And very soon, he broke down crying.

_"I'm sorry!...I'm so sorry...I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!!"_

"Sora!" I quickly startled, Kairi and I catching him once more as he was a shivering mess, digging into his own hair as if to rip them out to abstain his suffering.

"It's okay, none of this's your fault, alright? Don't worry."

 

He wasn't listening at all.  
On and on, he kept apologizing, his throat slowly becoming sore and broken as well as his heart.

I'm sorry for the fallen worlds.  
I'm sorry for all the people I couldn't save.  
I'm sorry for everyone's pain I can't heal.  
I'm sorry for my pain.  
I'm sorry for being a dork.  
For being a klutz.  
Being runner-up Master.  
Lost potential.  
Pitiful.  
Reckless.  
Useless.  
I'm sorry I even exist.  
I'm sorry for being ali—

  
Within this tiny room, "I'm sorry" was the only thing being said.  
Sorry for this curse of a life, for something no power of the heart or powerful magic could fix, to turn back the clock for all eternity.

 

 

 

_"I'm sorry...I'm so sorry..."_

 

**Author's Note:**

> IT BEGINS~!!!


End file.
